Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today unveiled a new interactive webpage to identify best practices for building rural prosperity. “Rural communities need forward-thinking strategies to build strong, resilient futures,” Hazlett said. [node:read-more:link]
A new report states the opioid crisis has cost Washington state billions of dollars in a single year. United States Senator Patty Murray released the analysis Monday, which found that in 2016 the crisis cost the state over $9 billion in fatalities, health care spending, addiction treatment, criminal justice and lost productivity.Opioid-related deaths had the greatest impact, costing the state $7 billion in 2016. According to the news release, deaths related to opioids cost the state more than $34 billion from the years 2012-2016. [node:read-more:link]
A group of companies at the forefront of the plant-based protein movement is pushing back against calls by the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) and others to change how they label their products. The Good Food Institute (GFI) is among those asking USDA to reject a petition from USCA urging the agency to limit the terms “beef” and “meat” to products made from slaughtered cattle, versus those originating from plants. [node:read-more:link]
The dramatic drop in milk prices is causing Ohio’s dairy farmers to leave the business at a higher than usual rate, according to The Ohio State University’s (OSU) College of Food, Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. While some farmers retire and give up their dairy licenses every year, there has been an uptick recently. In March 2018, there were 2,253 licensed dairy farms in Ohio – a drop of 59 farms in five months. [node:read-more:link]
April Rural Mainstreet Index Positive:April Survey Results at a Glance: For a third straight month the overall index remained above growth neutral.
* Farmland price growth and agriculture-equipment sales continue to decline. Trade concerns slam the business confidence index. More than three-fourths of bank CEOs reported that export markets were very important to their local economy. Almost one-third of bankers support the abolition of NAFTA and undertaking a new agreement. More than one-fifth of bankers support the elimination of oil refinery waivers to RFS obligations.
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On the face of it vegan and plant based might appear to be interchangeable but consumers do not view them in the same way. in a nationawide survey, respondents felt plant based was more flexible, offered them more and tasted better than vegan. [node:read-more:link]
Tension over the drought-stressed Colorado River escalated into a public feud when four U.S. states accused Arizona’s largest water provider of manipulating supply and demand, potentially threatening millions of people in the United States and Mexico who rely on the river. [node:read-more:link]
The city of Memphis could lose a quarter-million dollars as punishment for removing statues of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and Confederate President Jefferson Davis last year. The Tennessee House of Representatives voted to strip the money from next year's state budget. The sum had been earmarked to go toward planning for Memphis' bicentennial celebrations next year. The surprise move came just before legislators were to give final approval to Gov. Bill Haslam's $37 billion spending plan. [node:read-more:link]
Every year, more people are moving to small towns tucked in the Flathead Valley so they can choose from a range of outdoor activities — camping, hiking, riding their bikes, even kayaking or skiing — throughout the year. Flathead County first hit 100,000 residents last year, after growing by about 10 percent since 2010, according to U.S. census estimates. It’s the state’s second-fastest growing county, after Gallatin County, home of Montana State University, and one of the fastest-growing rural counties with populations over 25,000 in the United States. [node:read-more:link]
Declining water quality is a pressing environmental challenge and a landscape scale issue, affecting public and private landowners and many aspects of society. The need to protect water resources has prompted both government and individual involvement in finding solutions. Agricultural crop and animal production significantly impact water quality (Table 1). Land cultivation activities can contribute to increased risks of soil erosion, and the application of fertilizers and pesticides contribute to contaminated water runoff. [node:read-more:link]
